z11.4 November 28 Bleat

Post date: Nov 28, 2016 9:49:37 AM

Hello Vets,

Plenty of reading in the Bleat this week;

• Workplace Training and Assessment qualifications

• Should there be a 'safe' life for bicycle parts?

• Vintage Bike Exhibition

• Race Directors for 2017

• From the desk of the handicapper

• Racing this Week

• Race Reports

Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc

Ian Morton

Workplace Training and Assessment qualifications

As you may be aware, the club relies on qualified traffic controllers to assist in running races. It's been a while since the previous course, the delay being due to a lack of people qualified with a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment. These people are required to train others in the same qualification in the ACT.

If you have a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment and are interested in assisting in the running of a traffic controller course please identify yourself to me.

Dougal Torrance

President, ACT Veterans Cycling Club.

president@actvets.cc

Should there be a 'safe' life for bicycle parts?

The following Canberra Times article raises questions around the safety of older bike components: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/should-there-be-a-safe-life-for-bicycle-parts-20161117-gss41s.html.

The ACT Vets Committee encourages members to always pay close attention to the mechanical soundness of their bikes.

Vintage Bike Exhibition

Peter Taylor is a postman and cycling enthusiast, who services bicycles from his garage workshop and maintains a large and wonderful collection of vintage racing bikes. The highlights from Peter’s collection will be on display at the Canberra Museum and Gallery starting from Thursday 1 December 2016 until 5 March 2017.

The range includes rare Post World War II European bikes to an Australian bike raced at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The exhibition coincides with the inaugural L’Étape Australia by Le Tour de France cycling event which will take place in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales in December.

The event would be delighted to welcome Pedal Power ACT members to the opening – by Minister Gordon Ramsay Minister for the Arts and Community Events at 12Noon Wed 30 November at CMAG.

Pedal Power Members should RSVP for catering purposes by COB Mon 28 Nov to cmagbookings@act.gov.au or 02 6207 3968.

Location: Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG)

Date: Thursday 1 December 2016 – 5 March 2017

Full details at http://www.pedalpower.org.au/news/velocity-vintage-racing-bikes/

Race Directors for 2017

The club’s ability to conduct racing for the benefit of the member’s comes down to handful of Race Director’s who donate their time to ensuring the racing is held in safe conditions and in the spirit of the club’s racing etiquette. But we always would like to be able to add more members to our Race Director ranks so as to share the workload. So we are on the lookout for any club member’s who are interested in becoming a Race Director in 2017. Race Directing is not a hard task and means just a few hours of your time when you need to direct a race, the bonus is that you’ll receive a healthy 20 point addition to your season points score which may prove the difference if you’re racing to win overall season honours.

If you’re interested in throwing your hat into the ring for 2017 and becoming a race director all you need to do is to email race.committee@actvets.cc and register your interest or approach one of the club officials at the crits on a Tuesday night.

A short course will be run to introduce new Race Directors to the process prior to your first race and that a Qualified Referee would be assisting you through the process.

From the desk of the handicapper

Stuart Cathcart C to B

Ben Healy D to C (after great solo breakaway and other recent good form)

Ian Morton promotion alert—one more podium and he’s up!

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 29th November: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.

Race Description:

A/C 5:50 A 42m+2, C 38m+2

B/D 6:35 B 42m+2, D 38m+2

E/F/G 7:20 28 min + 2 laps

Race Director: Ben Davis

Contact: Email: bdavis@internode.on.net Ph 0416014629

Wednesday, 30th November: Track Racing

The Program for Wednesday is as follows:

5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;

6.00pm – 6.20pm: 10-lap graded scratch race;

6.20pm – 6.40pm: 2-Lap Handicap;

6.40pm – 7.00pm: 12-Lap Points Race;

7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 4th December: Cotter Reserve Time Trial - Uphill

Where: Cotter Bend reserve.

When: 9:00 am

Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.

Race Description: Individual Time Trial along Brindabella Rd over Mt McDonald

Race Director:Ian Morton

Contact: Email mortoni@optusnet.com.au Ph: 0411112007

Ian will need a couple of volunteers to help out. Please let him know if you can assist.

RACE REPORTS:

Uriarra – 13th November

“Four season in one day”. That’s what I would describe the racing at Uriarra. Driving out to Uriarra, it was sunshine. 10 minutes after pulling up at Uriarra myself and some of the volunteers were huddling under the back door of the van whilst a rain band passed by. Then the wind picked up, the flies came out to dance and there was even reports of snow falling on the mountains nearby. Of course those riders who decided to ride out were stuck between choosing to continue to ride out in the rain only to find that racing had been cancelled or turn around and head for home. Those who continued were rewarded with racing conditions that were difficult to say the least. It was even hailing in the latter half of the racing!

With a hotdog course going up to Condor creek and back to the top of Uriarra crossing, we decided to give A, B, C & D grades 2 laps and E, F & G 1 lap due to the lower rider numbers and the weather. We started a few mins late to allow for the various riders taking shelter under trees on their way out to the course to get to the start line and sign-on in time.

A & B grade combined for a 9 rider start group only to split up on the first foray into the mountains. Coming back past the judges with a strong tail wind behind them, they were flying towards the Uriarra turn point. After 1 lap, a group of 4 riders were together. However Peter Marshall decided to up the pace on the 2nd lap and by last time coming past the finish line heading towards the final Uriarra turn point he had a good 40 second break on the chase group. It stayed this way on the final leg back to the finish line with Peter coming home fastest of the day and taking out A grade. A minute behind came the chase group sprint with Christophe Barberet in B grade able to stay with Rohan Verco and Paul Welsh and take out the sprint.

C & D grade started together with Des Brown being the lone D grader who braved the conditions. After ½ a lap Ian Preston had stretched his legs and was putting some hurt into the chase group. However he was caught after 1 lap. Nick Boylan chanced his luck in the 2nd half of the race and this proved to be decisive and he took out the B grade win by about 50 seconds from Ian Preston and John Paul De Souza in 3rd. I was also made aware of a new nickname for Chris Kon (Velcro Kon). I guess one had to be out on the course to understand this new nickname.

E, F & G grades all combined for a 1 lap circuit and Rosemary Robinson decided that it would be a 1 lap solo time trial event and cleared away early and proceeded to increase her margin at every point of the race. She finished 2 minutes clear of everyone else. Maybe she was just trying to outrun the flies that had invaded the course after the rain stopped? Pete Lafferty and David Gunther rounded out the minor placings in E grade with Ian Morton and Bernie Crowe taking out F & G grade respectively.

The weather made our marshals perform their tasks in trying conditions. Polly Templeton did a fantastic job as ATC at the Uriarra Turnpoint, Ian Albery in the lonely Condor Creek turn point and Rob Langridge doing push-ups, squats and sprints trying to keep warm at the Uriarra intersection. Back at race central I was assisted by the great work of Graham Hendrie, John Ignatius and David McCook who is still recovering from a bike accident a few days beforehand. Also thanks to Tom Roberts our ever reliable sports med who was not required on the day for any serious incidents.

Ben Davis

Stromlo – 22nd November

A warm evening soothed by a setting sun was the scene for Stromlo vet crit racing. Could it get any better than this? Obviously not with big numbers across all grades, it really was the perfect night for racing.

B & D were first up with 31 riders in B and 32 in D. 12 mins into the B grade race we had our first attack of the night with Christopher Kon joined by 1 other for a short break that quickly got reeled in. It was a game of cat and mouse in B grade with no one keen to make a move early on. Over in D grade it was a similar story with no attacks in the early stages. After B grade overtook them, the tempo rose a bit with D grade hanging just off the back of B grade. Then what looked like a promising break of 5 riders in D led by John Thorn fizzled out quickly after 1 lap. It certainly looked like no break were going to succeed on the night. With 3 mins to go in D grade the move of the race was made with 3 riders breaking away to a good lead. This then got whittled down to Ben Healy with 1 lap to go and he held off the chase group to record the win ahead of Matt Dyne and Simon Johnston in 3rd place. B grade ended up in a mass sprint finish with Ian Mongan taking the flag ahead of Chris Kon and Dougal “El Presidente” Torrance back in 3rd.

E,F & G were next up. E grade rolled away on time with 13 riders in tow. F & G then rolled away with 11 in F and 2 in G. Things were very cordial as they normally are in these races with no attacks and an agreement to ride at a sensible pace. In E grade there was the odd attack but nothing successful and it came down to a final lap frenzy with the field quickly blowing apart after some strong turns by James Curran at the front who made the beeline for the finish line in 1st ahead of Phil Anderson in 2nd and Paul McKay in 3rd. F grade also got down to business in the last few mins with Ian Morton edging out Mike Hayes and Robert Miller. Meanwhile in G grade Heather Sommariva had a friendly ride with Bernie Crowe and pipped Bernie out for 1st place.

The final racing of the night was down to A & C grade. By now there were more flies than riders with 23 riders in A and 17 in C. Unusually the Dominator went for an attack joined by 1 other in the first few minutes. Obviously wanted to get as much air time for his sponsors on tv as possible. Then as usual the kangaroos decided to join in on the fun so our secretary went down to the southern end of the track for a roo shoo. They mustn’t respect authority as a few mins after Phil got back to the line they were back again. 13 mins into A grade Mark Harris made an enterprising break joined by Nathan Spillane. I thought this was going to be a very strong break but the main bunch was not having any of it and organized themselves well to chase them down. With 13 mins to go, a strong break was made with Antony Bishop scooting away along with 2 others and they worked well to setup a 200 mtr break. But again the pace whittled down the lead group leaving Bishop and Hinchcliffe to go it alone. They were then joined by a chase group of 3 and once again worked very strong together. On the bell lap the strategy of each rider came into play and they slowed down and with the main field making huge gains on them in the final lap it looked like they were going to get swamped. But Ben Morrison took off and was not caught. Paul Connor took 2nd with Antony Bishop taking 3rd and best aggressive rider for the night. C grade stayed together for most of the race with the odd break being attempted but all riders were quick to respond. It stayed this way right until the final sprint for the line. There would have been 10-14 riders all in the final sprint right across the track with Stuart Cathcart showing his sprint speed to take out the win ahead of Graham Tanton and Treston Bamber in 3rd.

Many Thanks to Bryan Holloway who put his hand up to help with marshal duties and stay injury free before his son’s wedding…wise move! Also thanks to Graham Hendrie for his tireless work behind the scenes at sign on and closing up.

Ben Davis

Narrabundah Track Racing – 23rd November

The seventh track racing session for the 16-17 season attracted 15 riders. The attendance was slightly down, as the race day was notable for poor weather. From morning until around 2.00pm, it rained solidly. However, by 4.00pm the weather cleared enough to dry the track, in time for racing. There was a small sprinkling of rain during the events and some wind to cope with. However, conditions were good enough to hold three of the four scheduled events.

The 10-lap A grade scratch race was competitive, as usual. The bunch circulated at a solid pace before Michael Langdon and Antony Bishop put in an attack on Lap 6. Michael seemed unconvinced by the attack and drifted back to the bunch. However, Antony Bishop persisted. With two laps to go, he held a 10 metre gap and looked strong. By the bell lap, he looked even better, with a 15 metre gap. However, the bell lap saw a surge from the bunch, with Steve Jones, Paul Connor and Alec Millett accelerating to close the gap on a tiring leader. Steve took the sprint from Paul Connor with Antony Bishop hanging on for a well deserved, third place.

The 10-Lap B grade scratch race settled in with some solid pace. By Lap 7 one rider had tailed off. Ross Scutts took the lead and initially looked a good prospect, as he gapped the field. As the bell lap started Steve Hirsler put in a well timed attack with Phil Anderson following and looking threatening. Steve held off Phil as the two crossed the line in first and second place. Tony Beasley overtook a tiring Ross Scutts to take third.

The next event was a 4-lap handicap. It is always difficult to handicap these longer events, due to the formation of bunches. In A grade, the handicapper tried a new scheme with most riders slotted into starting groups. This seemed to provide good racing. After a lap or so, riders coalesced into 2 main bunches and started working together. The scratch bunch caught the lead bunch halfway through the bell lap. Paul Connor surged to the line to take a second win for the night, closely followed by Michael Langdon and Steve Jones in that order.

The B grade handicap saw riders spread out more on handicap. By the end of lap 3, all riders had coalesced into a bunch that was travelling at pace and dropped the last rider overtaken. The bunch barrelled into the bell lap and set up for a sprint finish. Tony Beasley took the sprint from Phil Anderson and Phil Coulton. Well done to Phil Coulton for hanging in the bunch when overtaken.

The weather became unsettled as the B grade handicap concluded. After a short interval for the track to dry, the planned points race was cancelled and the race program jumped straight to the normal, all-in, Italian Pursuit finale.

There were 8 pursuit riders on team on Team 1 and 7 riders on Team 2. This required Team 2 to put in an extra lap to compensate for the shortfall of one rider. On paper, team 1 looked stronger in the middle and Team 2 looked to have a slight advantage with the anchor group. Initially the race looked like unfolding to form. However, some great laps by John Paul DeSousa, Alec Millett and Kerry Knowler cemented the mid race advantage of Team 1. By lap 7, Team 1 held a comfortable lead. However, it looked possible for Team 2 to close the gap. Both Michael Langdon and Antony Bishop put in big final efforts for Team 2. However, it was not enough to prevent Steve Jones and Paul Connor closing it out for a well fought, Team 1 win.

Major place getters were as follows:

10-Lap Scratch: (A Grade): Steve Jones, Paul Connor, Antony Bishop (B Grade) Steve Hirsler, Phil Anderson, Tony Beasley.

4-Lap Handicap: (A Grade): Paul Connor, Michael Langdon, Steve Jones (B Grade) Tony Beasley, Phil Anderson, Phil Coulton

Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Graeme O’Neill, Phil Coulton, Ross Scutts, Alec Millett, John-Paul DeSousa, Kerry Knowler, Paul Connor, Steve Jones).

Current Points Score Leaders: Steve Jones (131), Michael Langdon (119), Ross Scutts (101), Phil Anderson (97), Alec Millett (93), Steve Hirsler (85), Kerry Knowler (77), Graeme O’Neill (67).

Graeme O'Neill

Dairy Rd – 27th November

There was a small turnout for the Dairy Flat Criterium last Sunday with only 21 riders across all grades.

G grade got the ball rolling and whilst Bernie took all the sprints to win the race, Bruce was right on his tail crossing the line each time. There was no F Grade and in E grade the bunch mostly stayed together to contest the spints. Philip Anderson consistently placed in the sprints to the win the grade but he was regularly tested by Alison Hale. Some nice attacking by Rosemary Robinson towards the end put some pressure on the other riders but ultimately Rosemary came up a little short.

A and B grades were the next to roll away. The first couple of sprints were close affairs in A grade however, about half way into the race Paul Scherl put the hammer down and soloed his way to the finish leaving Peter and Seymour to battle it out for second which Seymour eventually took. B grade provided the most competitive racing on the day. David Dickson got out to an early lead in the points standing but consistent sprinting from Jason Parkes saw him in with a chance to take the win on the last sprint. There were a couple of attacks off the front, especially from Heath Chester which David had to respond to. However from the sidelines it looked like the other riders were happy to help David out in the chasing which shut down the breakaways. Ultimately David was able to come away with the win after a bunch sprint on the final lap.

There were only 4 riders across C and D grades so a last minute decision was made to have the grades race as one. Rather than ride together and contest the sprints, Kevin Wells charged off the front after 3 laps and was never headed. Andrew McRae and Michael Hanbury worked well together but were unable to pull any real ground back on Kevin. Kudos to Greg Mitchell who continued to fight along even though he was dropped early on. Its not always so easy to ride up a grade on the hotdog course!

Overall it was a very quiet day of race directing. Thanks to Graham Hendrie for setting up and dismantling the course.

Rohan Verco